Say that without a reduction in fares, these trains will have very few takers; minister says railway board studying all possible options to lower ticket costs
Commuters and a Ticket Checker inside a new AC local after PM Narendra Modi inaugurated 36 services on Friday. Pic/Satej Shinde
With the introduction of fast AC local train services on Friday, Central Railway commuters all the way from Titwala and Badlapur will be able to avail of the services. But Mumbaikars said with no reduction in fares that was expected, these trains are a slap in their face as only a handful of people will travel by them.
When questioned, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the fare reduction proposal was with railway board which was studying all the possible options to lower the fares. “A structure on the lines of the Metro ticket slabs had been worked upon and will be introduced soon,” he said.
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Speaking to mid-day, Railway Board Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) V K Tripathi said the fare reduction was under discussion and would be considered very soon. “It is the daily ticket fares of AC trains that are more disputed than the seasonal tickets, and this was under rectification.”
Commuters upset
“The fare reduction should have come before today’s function. It is a matter of shame that despite creating additional paths and passenger capacity, the railways chose to introduce AC trains which no one uses, and did not even announce a fare cut. It would have been understandable if it had been done with a fare cut, but the introduction of AC trains on the corridor is a complete waste in the given circumstances,” Umesh Vishe said, secretary of Kalyan-Kasara Railway Passengers Welfare Association.
Rohit Desai, a commuter, said the railways should have first reduced the fare and then introduced the AC local train. Another commuter, Harshad Joshi, said, “What about reduction in fares of AC EMU? These additional services will still run empty if you don’t reduce fares.”
Official speak
With the 36 additional services, including 34 AC ones, the total number of services on Mumbai Division of Central Railway has increased from 1,774 to 1,810.
“Out of total 44 AC services, 24 AC services will run as fast services and one as semi-fast. This has taken the total number of fast line services from 257 to 270 - 13 more fast line services. The 44 AC services will be run utilising three AC rakes,” Central Railway chief public relations officer Shivaji Sutar said. The additions are following the commissioning of the new Thane-Diva rail corridor.
Mumbai commuters have been criticising the introduction of additional AC locals due to the high fare and low patronage even in rush hour.
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